Food products that can be quickly prepared for serving with a minimum of effort (instant food product) have become popular in various settings including the home, cafeterias, and restaurants. Instant food products are quite varied and can include items served hot, cold, or at room temperature. Some instant food products are kept frozen and then thawed and/or cooked prior to serving. Others are shelf stable at room temperature by virtue of their packaging and/or the use of preservatives and relatively little needs to be done before serving them. Still others are provided in a dehydrated format and either consumed in a dehydrated condition or they are hydrated before serving.
While instant food products have found success because of their convenience, not all instant food products have achieved high marks for organoleptic properties. As such, improvement of the organoleptic properties of instant food products has been an area of continued work.